Monday, September 6, 2010

An Oxcart Ride, Southern Nepal, part 2


Houses in the Terrai


Water Buffalo

Hay Stack

Planting Rice

Bananas

House in the Terai

Villagers in the Terai

Footprint decorations on a house

Spring flowering tree in the Terai
The Terai is the forested flat low land in the southern part of Nepal.  It has always had people living in it, but relatively few until after 1950 when it was liberally sprayed with DDT.  Before that it was malaria infested, so the animals had the place more or less to themselves.  The population exploded from 8 million people in 1950 to 20 million people in 2000.  Today there is a lot of discussion about creating more useable farmland out of the Terai which means encroaching even more on the forest.  Although there is a great effort to maintain the Chitwan Jungle for its extraordinary wild life, the people who live there have to put up with wild rhinos, elephants, crocodiles and tigers and now ox carts full of tourists.  It's quite a balancing act to accomodate them all.
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4 comments:

  1. ellen abbottSeptember 6, 2010 at 8:49 AM

    It looks so peaceful. that flowering tree is gorgeous.

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  2. Trish and Rob MacGregorSeptember 6, 2010 at 10:05 AM

    Fascinating. I find it amazing that tourists trips are taken on ox carts. The photos are great and really impart a sense of place.

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  3. LeenieSeptember 6, 2010 at 10:20 AM

    As much as I love animals of all kinds, I think it would be a challenge to live cheek-to-jowl with goats and other cattle. Having rhinos and tigers and tourists disturbing life would also be a tough one. I'm also surprised at the tropical part of Nepal. That terrain must go straight up from the valley to the mountains. Thanks again for the virtual tour!

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  4. Rosaria WilliamsSeptember 6, 2010 at 11:52 AM

    I don't think they have a choice, about animals living in close quarters-a response to Leenie!
    There are at a crossroad with deforestation and population demands. Not much they can do if they want to feed people.

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